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Oni Rage
A trait common to all Oni which many new players use incorrectly (understandably as, at a glance, the Oni design encourages a more aggressive playstyle). Yet recognizing this to be a circumstantual option, and knowing when to use it (and when not to) is part of mastering the Daemons. Disadvantages of Rage When it boils down to it, Oni rage gives you +1-2 Ki for a single Ki-gen phase. However the cost of doing so comes at quite a high price: * First the Oni becomes Impetuous - forcing it to be the first model in its warband to activate that turn (or be one of the first should the warband have multiple Impetious models). While it doesn't have to fully activate (it can activate, wait for the rest of its warband to become exhausted, then activate a second time afterwards), it does allow your opponent to plan around your forced activation order. * Second the Oni becomes Aggressive, preventing them committing more dice to Defense than Attack. This can hurt them if they attack second in an engagement - especially if the attacker can push them out of the engagement (meaning they won't land anything with their attack dice). * Finally the Oni becomes '''Berserk '''which means it can only make Melee or Charge actions AND it MUST have them target the nearest enemy via the most direct route. Even if it can't see the target, the Oni will head straight for it regardless if doing so causes them to run headfirst into difficult terrain (slowing them). This prevents them being able to Run or make Ranged Attacks as they advance on the enemy. When to NOT use Oni Rage has a lot of negatives, and its use should be quite rare. Specifically there are four points for when you should hold back from employing it: * By staying calm on turn 1 (and potentially turn 2), your Oni can run 7" instead of 5". This will this help them position themselves better and will also give them a +1 penalty against enemy ranged attacks (which helps given their Huge size). * If you are going to engage an enemy with First Strike/ Lightning Reflexes and a Push-effect, you want a high defense to stay engaged so your follow up attack will land. * If your Oni is your VIM trying to reach the enemy deployment zone, staying calm will allow it to disengage if caught it melee to gain ground (instead of being tied up in combat) as well as allow it to choose to move away from enemies instead of towards them. * If your opponent is winning 1-0 VP, they may "Loose the Battle; Win the War". Being aggressive will only help them do so When to Use Oni Rage is very circumstantual, but shouldn't be ignored. If an Oni is engaged during the Ki generation step, or looks like it will be getting into melee this round, and will likely be staying there that turn (i.e.: isn't at risk of being pushed out), gaining an extra +1-2 Ki is wortwhile if it doesn't prevent what your were going to have the Daemons do that turn anyway.